In a strategic pivot that signals a return to Facebook’s original mission, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media giant will be overhauling its feed algorithm to once again prioritize posts from friends and family over content from publishers, brands, and advertisers.
The announcement, made during Meta’s recent quarterly earnings call, represents a fundamental shift in how content appears in users’ feeds. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to make [Facebook] way more culturally influential than it is today,” Zuckerberg noted, referring to his vision of returning to what he called “OG Facebook.”
This change marks a reversal of Facebook’s content strategy in recent years, which had increasingly emphasized recommended content and posts from businesses over personal connections. Meta executives acknowledged that the current algorithm often buried meaningful updates from close connections beneath a flood of professional content, videos, and advertisements.
Industry analysts view this shift as a direct response to declining engagement among younger users, who have migrated to platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. According to a 2024 Pew Research survey, U.S. teens’ use of Facebook had dropped dramatically from 71% in 2014-2015 to just 33% in recent years.
“Facebook became successful by creating meaningful connections between people,” explained Maria Gonzalez, social media strategist at Digital Trends Consulting. “Over time, the pursuit of engagement metrics pushed the platform toward content that kept users scrolling but not necessarily connecting. This change aims to correct that imbalance.”
The return to prioritizing friends and family content isn’t entirely new for Facebook. In 2018, the company made a similar announcement about emphasizing personal connections, though that initiative gradually gave way to an algorithm that favored engaging content regardless of source.
For many longtime Facebook users, the shift is welcomed. “I stopped using Facebook because my feed was filled with random content instead of updates from people I care about,” said Thomas Chen, who has been on the platform since 2007. “If they actually show me what my friends are posting again, I might return to using it regularly.”
Publishers and businesses, who have invested heavily in building Facebook audiences, may face challenges as their organic reach potentially declines. However, Meta has reassured advertisers that paid placement will remain an effective way to reach target audiences.
The algorithm change comes as part of a broader strategy that Zuckerberg calls returning to “OG Facebook,” reminiscent of the platform’s early days when it focused primarily on connecting college students and later friends and family. According to TechCrunch, Zuckerberg warned investors that these changes might require tradeoffs in “maximizing business results in the near term,” suggesting the company is willing to sacrifice some immediate revenue for long-term user satisfaction.
The move also comes amid increasing pressure from regulators and users regarding data privacy, misinformation, and the mental health impacts of social media. By returning to its focus on personal connections, Facebook may be attempting to reposition itself as a more positive force in users’ lives.
Meta has already begun rolling out changes to the algorithm, with full implementation expected in the coming months. Users can also manually adjust their feed preferences through the platform’s settings to prioritize specific friends or pages they want to see first.
Whether this latest pivot will successfully recapture the essence of what made Facebook popular in its early days remains to be seen. But for a platform that began with the simple mission of connecting people to their friends, this return to basics may be exactly what it needs to remain relevant in an increasingly fragmented social media landscape.
